Admittedly a layman, I’m nonetheless almost always flummoxed by what seem to be partisan, obfuscatory readings of court rulings, especially when they are written in a fairly straightforward manner. Today’s case in point is the denial of a temporary restraining order against New York City and the private operator of Zuccotti Park after last night’s [...]
With A Dogged Persistence
Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore: … God was burying America in a ruinous war because He was ignored in America’s founding document. Only if God and Christ were placed in the Constitution could His favor he regained. As the historian Morton Borden has put it, “the Civil War, so it seemed to thousands of [...]
Is Media Content-Free Re: “Content Neutral”?
Earlier, discussing the coming spectacle to be made out of funerals for the Arizona shooting victims, I wondered about the fast-tracked law to prevent Westboro Baptist Church from picketing. It remains to be seen how the Arizona legislature plans to ban Westboro from picketing without encountering any constitutional issues, although presumably they’re viewing it as [...]
Fundraising Off The Giffords Shooting
The right-wing Internet is enraged by the 21st Century Democrats (a group I’d not even heard of prior to this) fundraising off the attempted assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) over the weekend. The problem is, the group isn’t doing any such thing. Rather, the group sent out an email to its supporters asking for [...]
A Band Of Dupes and Impostors
Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore: … How shocking Jefferson’s vitriolic attacks on ministers of God, especially those who meddled in politics, seem to late-twentieth-century sensibility. Christ so no need for priests, Jefferson wrote. They were not necessary “for the salvation of souls.” He suggested to John Adams, his friend after they had left politics, [...]
The Route Of Its Citizens Toward Eternal Salvation
Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore: On the importance of distinguishing the skills of governors from their religious profession, [Roger] Williams was explicit: “We know the many excellent gifts wherewith it hath pleased God to furnish many, enabling them for publike service to their Counties both in peace and war (as all ages and experience [...]
We Hear With Little Sympathy
Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore: We hear with little sympathy the complaints about satirical abuse heaped upon many religious leaders who have ventured into the arena of political debate. To be sure, they have been lampooned. H. L. Mencken was not the first person to satirize religion and biblical literalism. Nor was Tom Paine, [...]
The Pain And Suffering Of Bigots
Over at The Washington Post‘s On Faith blog, Brad Hirschfield defends President Obama and his “wrestling” with the matter of equality for gay and lesbian couples. To do so, he unfortunately conflates two entirely different parts of the issue. To struggle respectfully and to evolve over time, that is how the most durable cultural shifts [...]
Wrestling With Equality Prolongs Injustice
In an exclusive interview with The Advocate published yesterday as the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell headed for his signature, President Barack Obama was asked if he thinks, in light of remarks he’s made about the law, that “it’s time that gays and lesbians should be entitled to full marriage rights”. [L]ike a lot [...]
Mollycoddling The Military
On the floor of the United States Senate today, prior to a cloture vote to end debate on the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, Senator John McCain had some things to say on the matter. Today is a very sad day. The [...]